













■: \/ ^»^ %.^ ^^li^ ^/ ^^\ %.^ 

»"'*. ^iigr; /-^^ -.igll- /vy^r^ /"^^ ■•^- o'' 





^^-'■^. 






RECEPTION 



TENDEKED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE 



UNION LEAGUE OF PHILADELPHIA 



GEORGE n. BOKEE. 



MINISTER OF THE UNITED STATES TO TURKEY. 



Friday Evening^, December 22, 1871. 



PlIILADELFIIIA: 
COLLINS, PRINTER, lO^* JAYNL STREET. 



7h 



J- 



Believing that every gentleman who participated in 
the Reception tendered Iiy the Members of the Union 
League of Philadel[>lua to George II. Boker, on the 
evening of December 22, 1<S71, would take pleasure in 
preserving a record of the incidents of that occasion, tlie 
Committee have decided to devote to the publication of 
this pamphlet, jireparcil frum a phonographic re})ort, the 
funds remaining in their possession. 



THE PRELIMINARIES. 



MR GEORGE H. BOKER'S appointment l)y 
tlic President of the United States to the 
distinguished position of Minister to Tnrkcy was 
e\-er3'wherc reeog-nized as a most well merited eom- 
])]iinent, and the pu1)lic announeement was received 
with nnqnalihed ajiproval. Among the memhers of 
the Union Leagne, whose faithful olficer he had Ijeen 
since the inception of the organization, the desire 
was universal to demonstrate in some formal manner 
the satisfaction felt at the honor conferred iijion 
him, and at the same time to testify to the high 
l)ersonal esteem in which he was held l)y all asso- 
ciated with him. AVitli this view numerous projects 
were discussed; and it was finally decided to tender 
to Mr. BoKER an Evening Reception, the privilege 
of suhscrihing thereto being limited to memhers of 
the Union League; and the elegant quarters of the 
Association being selected as the projjcr place for 
the event. 

A Committee was then appointed to superintend 
the necessary details, and their first duty was to 



8 

formally notify Mr. Bokek of the proposed compli- 
ment. His consent having been obtained, and his 
convenience consulted in the selection of the date, 
the members of the League were briefly informed, 
by printed circular, of the affair in progress. The 
resjionse was immediate and general, and, in the few 
days intervening l^etween the issue of the circular 
and the closing of the list, two hundred and sixty- 
three voluntary subscriptions were received by the 
Treasurer of the Committee. This large number 
Avould have been still greater but for the fact that 
the Philadeljihia Club, of which organization Mr. 
BoKEK was at that time President, had chosen for 
a similar entertainment, the idea having suggested 
itself in the two bodies al)out the same time, the 
evening of the 20th of December ; anticipating the 
League in the execution of its compliment, and 
leading some gentlemen who were mcml^ers of l)oth 
associations to choose that, because it was an earlier 
opportunity of showing their desire to do honor to 
Mr. BoKEK. 

The evening of Friday, December 22d, 1871, 
having been fixed upon for the Reception, the 
League Club House, for that occasion, was placed 
entirely under the control of the gentlemen having 
that matter in charge, and upon them devolved the 
duty of making the affair as attractive as the means 
in their possession would permit; and to this end 
their euero^ies were directed, thev beino- actuated. 



9 

at the same time, by the desh-e to interfere as little 
as possilile with the ordinary daily routine of tlm 
establishment. As a formal reminder, a hand- 
somely engraved invitation, simple, ehaste, and free 
from elaborate oriiament of any kind, was forwarded 
to each subscriber, inclosing a card to be presented 
to the nshers as a means of entrance to the 
Banquet Room. Every efibrt was made to provide 
in anticipation for the convenience of those taking- 
part; including the provision by the Committee of 
a number of carriages, wdiich, from midnight until 
the last light was extinguished, were at the com- 
mand of the participants to convey them to their 
several homes. 



THE EVENT. 



QOON" after li;ilf-pasl seven o'clock on the cveniiiii,- 
^ of tlie 22(1 of December, tlie g-entlemen wlio 
liail united in the compliment to Mr. Geokgk II. 
BoKER heg-nu to assemble at the Union League 
House. For the purposes of the Reception the 
entire north side of the main Hoor was set a])art. 
The grand suite of rooms from the Drawing- Room 
on the east to the small Dining- Room on the Avest 
were thrown open and brilliantly illuminated. In 
the latter apartment was stationed the Germania 
Orchestra in such full force that the strains of 
delicious nnisic were continuous. The doors cus- 
tomarily opening- from this suite into the great 
Hall were kept closed, and servants were stationed 
to direct all comers to ^Jass directly to the passage 
way leading to the rooms of the Publication Com- 
mittee, which were temporarily converted into toilet 
and cloak rooms. From this point, alter removing 
their wrappings, those participating were escorted 
through the several minor rooms of the suite — 
which in addition to their usual furniture were jiro- 



14 

fusely filled with living- tropical plants, and hand- 
some designs in sweet scented flowers — to the 
Drawing Room. In this apartment no change had 
been made, the Committee being confident that any 
elaborate decoration would detract from the effect 
of the beautiful paintings, the elegant marbles, the 
superl} bronzes, and the exqiiisite upholstery usual 
to the room. Here Mr. Boker received his 
friends, and grouped about him, in addition to 
those present as his hosts, were a few distinguished 
guests, present by special invitation. Among these 
were the Hon. George M. Robeson, Secretary of 
the K'avy ; the Hon. Simon Cameron, Ex-Secretary 
of War, and present Senator of the United States 
from Pennsylvania ; the Hon. John Scott, United 
States Senator from Pennsylvania; the Hon. John 
A¥. Forney, Collector of the Port of Philadelphia; 
the Hon. Daniel M. Fox, Mayoi- of the City of 
Philadelphia; the Hon. Wayne MacVeagh, recent 
United States Minister to Turkey; Mr. Bayard 
Taylor, the distinguished author and poet; Mi-. 
Albert W. Bacon, U. S. IsTavy ; Col. George Boker, 
of the Governor's staiF, the son of the honored 
guest of the hour, and Dr. Charles S. Boker, his 
brother. 

At half-past nine o'clock, the musicians having 
lieen previously removed to the head of the great 
staircase, the combined orchestras pealed forth the 
strains of a beautiful march arranged especially for 



the oeeasion; one of the hall doors eominimicating 
with the Reception Snite Avas thrown open, and 
through ail avenue of silken cord the assembled 
l)arty passed to the supper rooms above; the 
President of the League leading the Avay with 
Mr. BoKEK, and the invited guests being escorted 
by difterent members of the Board of Directors. 
The whole of the second floor was arranged ibr 
this more material portion of the entertainment; 
the Reading Room and Library were converted 
into coftee rooms, while the Banquet Room pre- 
sented a scene of bounteous splendor which has 
probably never been equalled in Philadelphia. 
Suspended above each of the exquisite paintings 
adorning the walls were silken flags embracing in 
their devices the insignia of the Republic, the 
Commonwealth, and the City ; with here and there 
the colors of the Union League harmoniously 
blended. The mantels and windoAV-seats were 
filled with X)lants and freshly plucked flowers. 
Pendant from the central chandelier hung a huge 
ball of rose buds and scarlet fuchsias, Avhile 
beneath upon the supper table Avas an elegant 
plateau of choicest exotics; at equal distances from 
this and nearer the ends of the Iward Avere other 
floral devices arranged Avith consummate skill : 
gratifying the eye by their beauty and the inner 
sense by the sweet fragrance they exhaled. Hand- 
some vases loaded Avith luscious fruits filled appro- 



1(3 

priate places, and two immense l)locks of transparent, 
crystal ice, carved and shaped as thong-h cast by 
Natnre in this elaborate mould, served as receivers 
for toothsome bivalves fresh from their watery bed. 
At one end of the table a large "Wild Turkey 
cooked to suit the most epicurean taste, yet lacking- 
not a feather of its brilliant plumag-e, sat as though 
2)roud of its martyrdom for such an occasion; at 
the other extreme a pair of English Pheasants, 
similarly arrayed in their native many-hued gar- 
ments, and equally ready for the palate, invited 
the destruction which awaited them. BetAveen 
these were spread dishes of every sort, elaborately 
ornamented by the greatest art of confectioner 
and cook. Puzzling with which to satisfy their 
appetites, toying first with this delicacy and then 
with that, the party occupied some time in dispos- 
ing of the varied bill of fare. 

A sufficient time having elapsed for the ample 
enjoyment of the feast, which was supi)lemented 
Avith a liberal supply of the rarest wines, the 
attention of the company was secured by Mr. J. 
Gillingham Fell, who requested that those i^resent 
would at once come to order. 

The perfect silence thus attained was broken by 
the Hon. Morton McMichael, President of the 
Union League of Philadelphia, who said: — 



17 

We ;ire here to-nig-ht for a threefold purpose : 
First, as nieinljers of the Union League, to render 
thanks to one who has served us hnig and weU; 
next, as knal citizens, to testify by our presence 
and praises our high sense of an earnest dedication 
of rare gifts to the needs of the country when those 
needs were most urgent ; and again, as companions, 
on the eve of separation from a Aahied associate 
near and dear to our afl'ections, to bid him "God 
speed" and farewell. It is right that such an occa- 
sion should be marked by significant demonstra- 
tions. It is right, in view of such objects, that we 
should throng these spacious halls, which have so 
often echoed his elorpient voice, so often witnessed 
his disinterested labors; and, while memories of 
the eventful past and anticipations of the promising 
future mingle with the excitements of the joyful 
present, here, amid the harmonies of enlivening 
music, the blaze of festal lights, the rustle of glis- 
tening draperies, the fragrance of blooming flowers, 
the cheer of abundant hospitality, by th(.' quick 
glance of the e^e, by the fervid grasp of tlie hand, 
by the grateful utterance of the tongue, by look 
and sign and word, proclaim our respect and ad- 
miration for George H. Bokek. 

Almost a decade has passed since our organiza- 
tion was founded. Those were dark days when it 
was l)rought into Ijeing, and darker da^ys followed. 
Nor Avas the task it set itself to accomplish a light 



18 

one. At a time when the pillars of" our political 
fabric were shaken by violent assaults, in a commu- 
nity where the reputed leaders of society were 
hostile, it had to purify an imwholesome social at- 
)nosphere ; and, among a people many of whom 
were bound by ties of kinship and intercourse to 
the militant apostles of a false creed and their mis- 
guided followers, it had to sever those attachments 
and replace them with bands of national obligation. 
It had, moreo'S'er, to overleap the barriers of ancient 
prejudice ; to carry the torch of truth into the dim 
recesses of error, and thus dispel long-cherished 
illusions ; to reinvigorate principles enfeebled by 
neglect, and I'estore practices forgotten through dis- 
use ; to encourage the timid and fortify the bold ; 
to bring together those who had been widely sepa- 
rated, and to l)lend into concord antagonistic ele- 
ments ; and, by help of instrumentalities like these, 
to produce a compact, solid mass of patriotic 
opinion, which, when developed into action, should 
prove, as it did prove, supreme and irresistible. 
That the Union League, within its sphere, achieved 
this result no one disputes — that it was able to 
achieve it is, in a large measure, due to those who, 
combining at the outset, clung each to the others 
through all subsequent vicissitudes, never losing 
faith, never relaxing eftbrt, never counting the cost, 
never pausing to think of personal consequences, 
but keeping steadfastly and unfalteringly on until 



19 

the good work they had commenced was success- 
fully comjilctcd. And foremost among these was 
Mr. BoKEK. Elected Secretary at the first meet- 
ing of the Institution he assisted to create, from 
that hour to this, while participating in all the 
counsels and co-operating in all the movements of 
his colleagues, he has filled his onerous and respon- 
sible post with unflagging zeal, with untiring 
energy, with unsparing industry, and with an in- 
telligence and skill that could not be surpassed. 
You, who year after year have listened to and 
read his excellent annual re^jorts, know with what 
a graceful and vigorous pen he has recorded our 
proceedings ; with what force of logic and fervor of 
rhetoric he has enunciated our opinions; with what 
clear insight he has comprehended and expounded 
our policy ; but you may not sufficiently appreciate 
the large consumption of his time and the repeated 
exercise of his talents, which a voluminous corre- 
spondence and the unavoidaljle details and acces- 
sories of his office demanded, though knowing the 
man, as you do, you will readily believe that what- 
ever he has done, however it might have chafed 
and fretted others, has been done by him with an 
unafll'cted cheerfulness which added tenfold to its 
value. And it is for this service — for these services 
— and for his constant, vigilant, and patient sujier- 
vision of our liousehold afi'airs, that we are here to 
thank him. 



20 

If. as is often nssortod, he who writes the song-s 
of ;i nation, even in the tranquil periods of peace, 
touches more deeply its inner nature than do they 
who make its laws — surely when that nation, 
startled and alarmed by parricidal attempts on its 
life, is roused to keenest sensibility and, anxiously 
looking in all directions for succor, is prompt to 
discern and eager to receive every expression of 
sympathetic aid — surely, surely, in such an emo- 
tional condition, the thoughts that breathe and tlu^ 
Avords that burn in the inspirations of the faithful 
poet, by subtle processes of transmutation, incoi-po- 
rate themselves into its very tibre, circulate through 
all its veins and arteries, stimulate it in every 
nuiscle and joint and limb and function, and so 
nerve it with fresh courage, and strengthen and 
sustain and support it in all the means and methods 
to which it has resort for self-preservation. If this 
])e true, or only partially true, who shall venture to 
prescribe limits to the intluence for good which 
Mr. BoKER exerted during the recent rebellion. 
Endowed by the Almighty, beyond most of his 
compeers, with the vision and the faculty divine, 
in the intervals of the occupations to which I 
have adverted, he sent forth from the fertile f'urge 
of his glowing lirain lyric after lyric in rapitl suc- 
cession: noAV sounding a trumpet call to duty that 
made the echoes ring on shore and sea: now stir- 
ring the pulses of his hearers by a grand recital 



21 

of how our gallant soldiers, amid the thunders 
of beleliing- cannon and thi'ough the rattle of sul- 
l)hurous hail, with superb disdain of danger, leaped 
from crag to crag along the precipitous sitles 
of Lookout Mountain and sought and fought and 
confjuered the foe far uj) among the rolling clouds; 
now causing all breasts to throb and all ejea to 
moisten as he told the piteous tale of our brave 
sailors who Avent down in the sinking Cumberland, 
carrying with them and still wa\ing as they sunk 
the rtag for which they knew they were about to 
die, and gurgling a solemn huzza as the deep 
waters silenced them forever; now chanting in 
tones of tenderest sadness a plaintive retpiiem over 
the fallen; and then, when the ct>nllict was ended 
and the Union re-established, flinging on the winds, 
that they might sweep with it around the borders 
of the land, a jubilant pa?an of triumph, and lifting 
through the o'erarching sides a h}nni of humble 
thankfulness to the good God who, in our sorest 
travail, vouchsafed us His blessing and protection. 
Hiis is not the place for more than a passing 
allusion to this topic, fruitful as it is, but I will not 
forbear to say that among the poems of the war, 
brilliant and admirable as many of them are, 1 
Icnow of none which, considering the wisdom of its 
design, the singular felicity of its execution, the 
opportune moment at which it ajjpeared, the instant 
and immense eftect it had on men's minds and 



22 

consciences, can claim higher rank tlian tlie nol)]e 
and generous appeal, shining all over -with the 
lustre of a l)road humanity, which Mr. Boker 
emhodied in his fomous "Black Regiment." And 
for this, and for these, and for kindred contributions, 
we are here to praise him. 

And now, gentlemen, speaking for you, not less 
than for myself, I come to that which is at once 
pleasant and painful. Pleasant it is to know that 
our honored Chief Magistrate, certainly in this 
Avisely discreet, has selected Mr. Bokek for an 
important foreign mission, in which two of oiu" 
fellow-members, happily now present, have earned 
just distinction. Pleasant it is to feel that in this 
selection, while the President has done credit to his 
o-wTi sagacity, he has, also, conferred a benefit on 
the government which he administers. For, regard 
Mr. Boker in whatever aspect we may, whether as 
a staunch defender of the Union when to be so 
meant something more than cheap profession, and 
an able advocate now of the doctrines on which 
alone it can be maintained; or as a citizen of 
recognized worth and deservings ; or as a scholar 
in whom superior natural abilities have been assidu- 
ously cultivated; or as a close observer and sound 
thinker, versed in the facts and philosophies of his- 
tory-, familiar with public atfairs and competent to 
deal with them ; or as a Avell-ordered, well-balanced, 
well-provided man, dignified in his deportment, 



23 

courteous in his manner, persuasive in his address, 
and bountifully furnished with all good grace to 
grace a gentleman; it cannot be gauasaid that he is 
pre-eminently fitted. But, while it is pleasant to 
know and feel all this, it is painful to know and feel 
that by reason of this very selection he is soon to 
part from us. In a little while his seat at our 
council board will Ije vacant; in our daily and our 
nightly reunions we shall miss the greeting- of his 
beauiing smile; his manly Ibrm will disappear from 
among us. For all of us, such is the universal 
good-will he has won, this will be a serious regret: 
for many of us, with whom intimate relations have 
ripened acquaintanceship into esteem, it will be a 
sincere sorrow. For myself, congeniality of tastes 
and, in many thiugs, similarity of pursuits have 
drawn me into so close a connection with Mr. 
BoKKR that there has grown between us such 
mutual confidence, and — I think I do not overesti- 
mate his sentiments, as I am sure I do not over- 
state my own, when I add — such cordial and 
fraternal regard that his absence will take many — 
very many — happy hours out of my coming days. 
But I console myself with the trust that that 
absence will be for a brief season; and that, Avhile 
it lasts, wherever he may go he will carry with him 
kindly remembrances of us all ; and where^'er he 
may be as he recalls this scene there will come 
with it the consciousness that though the palaces 



24 

of crowned kings may oftcr more dazzling splendors, 
in none of them all, no, not in all the world beside, 
can he find hearts so warm or friends so true as 
surround him here to-niy-ht. 



Before the applaiise which followed the remarks 
of Mr. MeMiehael had subsided, the Hon. Wayne 
MaoVeagii, the immediate jiredecessor of Mr. 
BoKER in the position of Minister to Turkey, 
stepped forward and said: — 

You know, gentlemen, that I would not intrude 
between you and the guest of the evening if I felt 
that I could forbear to do so, and you know it is 
no idle phrase I use, when I assure you from my 
heart that I am always yery glad to meet my 
brethren of the Union League. And it is not as 
the predecessor of Mr. Boker in the honorable 
mission whose duties he goes to discharge, lint 
simply as a memljcr of the Union League of 
Philadelphia, that I beg you to listen to me for a 
moment before you listen to him. I ought always 
to be glad to be here; for, from my first coming 
among you until now, I have met nothing but 
kindness at your hands and at his. And, though 
all the faces are not here to-night that we used to 
meet when I first knew Mr. Boker as your 
Secretary, I am sure Ave cherish with tender recol- 



lections the memories of those who have gone 
before ns, and I, at least, ought never to forget Mv. 
Binney and Mr. Ornc. And of the living, I sliould 
never forget Messrs. MeMichael, Claghorn, Carey, 
Borie, Lindley Smyth, and Fell, and many, many 
others ■who are aronnd me now. From them all I 
have received unvarying kindness. 

Seeing Mr. Boker here to-night, nnd these 
familiar faces, carries nic hack in memory to our 
more modest home on Chestnut Street and the 
dark days of the war. I remember very Avell how 
heartily we all rejoiced in every success, and how 
like brothers we sorrowed in every disaster. I 
remember how our hearts were heav}^ with gloom 
when Burnside lost Fredericksliurg. I remember 
how our hearts leajied with strange joy when we 
believed Hooker had Avon Chancellorville. And 
those were the days which tested the vitality and 
the utility of the Union League of Philadelphia. 

It is not now when American Democracy has 
been sustained, and a triumphant party admin- 
isters the gON'ernment in the interest of the cause 
which Avas Avon on the held of battle; but then, 
Avhen Lee was marching on Philadelphia; Avhen 
McClellan A\'as thrown Ijack from Riclnnond, and 
Avhen defeat and darkness prevailed everywhere ; 
then Avas tried the A'irtue of the men Avho founded 
the Union League of Philadelphia. And the 
obligations then incurred to Mr. Bokek have 

4 



26 

never yet been properly recognized. In those 
days I was privileged to see mneh of the friend 
whose going from us we are met to deplore to- 
night. Whoever else faltered, whoever else hesi- 
tated, we all know in our heart of heart that no 
man ever met with Mr. Boker without having 
his loyalty invigorated. To him we are all more 
indebted, and we associate him more vividly and 
more distinctly with the Union League of Phila- 
delphia than any other of its members. I have 
already said I owe large debts of gratitude to 
them all — the living and the dead. I shall never 
forget the great good it did me when Horace 
Binney did me the honor to print, at his owai 
expense, twenty-fi^'e thousand copies of my address 
to the Republicans of Pennsylvania. I shall never 
forget the kindness and support which Lindley 
Smyth I'endered me. And yet the oldest or 
youngest member of this League, if he should 
name the one man before all others whom he 
associates with its history, whom he identifies with 
its triumphs, who is at once its embodiment and 
representative, Avould name Mr. Bokee. I con- 
gratulate the President on his Minister. He has 
made a fit selection. He has done honor to us; for 
to the Union League Mr. Bokeu's broad and 
sound culture, his gracious manners, and, alcove all, 
his unfailing courage, have never been wanting. 
And we can congratulate to-night, not only the 



Pi'csident on his Minister, Imt I am sure we can, 
with equal propriety, congratuhite tlie Minister 
upon liis Chief. Speaking not in tlie name, for I 
have no authority to speak for them, but speaking 
what I believe to be the sentiments of the young 
Repul)licans of Peinisylvania, I venture to declare 
they will listen to the criticisms of honest men and 
Avill profit by them, even if they criticize the Presi- 
dent. They will entleavor to reform and emioble 
our public life in America, and make it worthy of 
the best government in the world. 

But they listen with great impatience to the 
criticisms of dishimest and bad men ii[)on the 
stainless character of the President, anil they will 
resolve in the future, as in the ])ast, to save the 
nation, and to do the good they propose to do, 
through the instrumentality of the Republican 
party. Indeed it is because of his unswerving- 
fidelity to that party, in good and e\il report, that 
we honor Mr. Boker especially to-night, because 
he believes with us that the party whicli saved the 
Repul)lic, wliich freed the slave, which renominated 
and re-elected Abraham Lincoln, will renominate 
and re-elect Ulysses S. Grant. Therefore, while 
we congratulate the President upon his ^linister, 
we congratulate the Minister upon his President. 
I am also privileged, I know, in the name of the 
distinguished and erudite gentleman who held that 
post before me, as well as in my own name, to 



28 

congratulate Mr. Boker upon the mission to 
which the President has accredited him, because 
he goes to a delightful climate, a most interesting 
country, and a people who, in spite of a false 
religious creed and a false social system, gather 
into themselves some of the l)est elements of a 
good manhood. AVe predict for him unalloyed 
happiness. And for ourselves we predict even 
higher and l)righter flights of the Muse by the 
shores of the Bosphorus than have ever been realized 
by the banks of the Schuylkill and the Delaware. 
We congratulate him because he goes to a place of 
great bcaiity and increasing interest, where nature 
presents all that is delightful, and all enhanced b}^ 
the associations of history, poetry, and mythology. 
While therefore we are soi'ry to see him go, we are 
rejoiced to know that he goes so honorably and to 
such pleasure as is before him. With full hearts 
and in all sincerity, we call him patriot, poet, 
friend, and say, God bless you, and farewell. 



Mr. MacVeagh having concluded, the Hon. 
Edwaiid Joy Morris, the representative of the 
United States at Constantinople for some years 
preceding the term of Mr. MacVeagh, claimed 
attention for a few moments, and continued: — 

I feel myself honored in being permitted to 
address the members of this jiatriotic organization 



29 

— a body which Avas called into existence 1\v the 
dangers wliich menaced the life of the Repnhlic — 
and whose members throughout the struggle lor 
the salvation of the Union devoted themselves with 
a zeal that never flagged, and that hesitated at no 
personal sacrifices, to the noble mission which they 
had luidertaken. 

The Union League of Philadelpliia has gained 
an honorable reputation in our future annals. The 
history of the Civil War cannot be written without 
recording the invaluable services rendered to the 
government during that memorable struggle by 
this Association. You roused the public mind to a 
true sense of the situation; you fonned a patriotic 
centre around which the friends of the country 
could rally; you uplield the flag of the Union in a 
divided commiuiity; you kept alive the flame of 
loyalty to a common country; and you systematized 
and rendered doubly eftcetive the efforts of masses 
and individuals. Without such a comlnnation, the 
government would have been deprived of that 
concentrated })opular sympathy and sup])oi-t, Avhicli 
was indispensal)ly necessary to it in the crisis to 
which it was exposed. 

Called to the service of the government abroad, 
I was not in the country during the war, but I was 
an anxious spectator of the action of organizations 
and individuals, and I watclied with interest the 
develoi)ment of the power ami influence of this 



League, until it culminated into a position which 
placed it in the foreground of all 8uch associations. 
No disasters discouraged you. "When the prospect 
was the gloomiest, your zeal seemed to be enkindled 
to more earnest eftbrts to stimulate the spirit of 
resistance — you sent regiment after regiment into 
the field, more than any other similar body, and 
you repaired from time to time the shattered ranks 
of that gloi-ious army, so often led to victory by the 
illustrious commander whom a grateful people has 
since so justly called to the Presidency of the 
Republic, which his genius and -salor saved from 
destruction. 

It is fitting that he who was l)est acquainted with 
the value of the services of this League, should 
bestow upon it some special mark of his apprecia- 
tion. In selecting your honored Secretary, Mr. 
BoKER, as the recipient of his favor, the Pi-esident 
pays a merited compliment to both the League and 
to one of its most efficient officers — a gentleman 
distinguished for rare qualities of mind and heart, 
and who, as your Secretary during the war, won 
himself great credit by the services he rendered to 
the Union cause. As a gentleman and a scholar, 
and as an American whose patriotism has been 
tested in the sternest period of trial, we know that 
he will do honor to the government he is to 
represent, that he will uphold the national name 
and character, and will prove himself f;xithful to the 



oi 

generous instincts of the Association, witli Avliich 
lie has so long been connected. I cordially wish 
him God-speed in the important and res})()nsil.)le 
field of dnt}' to which he has been assigned l)y the 
President. 



Mr. Morris was immediately followed by the Hon. 
John "W". Forney, Collector of the Port of Phila- 
delphia, who said: — 

What I have to say shall be briefly said. I 
cannot find words in the niiilst of the rushing 
memories of the past — that past in which om- 
friend and brother bore so conspicuous a part. If 
I may be permitted to refer for a moment to 
myself, I will say that in all those years of war and 
death; in that decade of tragic history, this brave 
spirit never came to me without hopeful, heart fid 
counsel and support. Xo calamity demoralized, 
no treachery appalled, no resp(insibility weakened 
him. In that dark hour, when the smi seemed to 
have fiillen from the skies, wdien our beloved leader 
fell, it was Bokek who hymned the national 
sorrow over the bier of the martyr Lincoln; and in 
that moment when timid men feared to give the 
l^allot to the colored man, who had so nobly borne 
the musket, it was Bokejj who articulated the 



82 

nation's gTatitude, and in his great epic framed at 
once an inspiration and an argument. 

The administration honors itself more tlian it 
does tlie League by calling him to a position in the 
foreign service. He would till a higher place with 
the highest ability. We only lend him to the 
government. We shall wait and watch for his 
return. Sad hearts will bid him good-bye; warm 
hearts will bid him God-speed; grateful hearts will 
welcome him back. Farewell, Boker! 



At the close of Mr. Foi'ney's remarks, the 
President of the League, Mr. McMichael, stated 
that there was present a Avarm personal friend of 
Mr. Boker, from whom it was desired something- 
should be heard. Thus appealed to Mr. Bayard 
Taylor, the eminent poet, answered: — 

Gentlemen of the LTnion League — I am not a 
professional, not even an habitual speaker, as I 
hope yon all know. I always rather shrink from 
than court an opportunity to present myself in that 
character. I am, however, more than willing to- 
night, — I am heartily glad to join with all the 
friends of George H. Boker in this parting testi- 
monial of the esteem in which they hold him. It 
does not always happen in our country that official 
distinction falls on the head which merits it. We 



ill Pennsylvania have been fortunate in forming- an 
exception to that fact. We have fnrnished the 
conntry with a representative in Turkey for a 
imiiiber of years past, and always worthily and 
well. I have had a great many chances of personal 
observation, under various administrations, and 
have noticed the rather random way in which 
some of our diplomatic appointments are made, 
under our system of selecting- according- to g'eo- 
gra|)hical claims or merely partisan services, with- 
out considering- special qualifications for the post. 
I consider it a subject of congratulation for all 
parties — for the whole people, when the repre- 
sentative of a great nation in a foreign land is so 
fortunately chosen as now. As a Republican, as a 
Pennsylvania 11, as one avIio has devoted nearly his 
whole life to literature, I have the closest relations 
of sympathy Avith Mr. Bokei;. It has also been 
my good fortune to claim him for a personal friend 
for nearly twenty-four years. Perhaps there could 
be no better illnstration of his character than by 
stating- how this acquaintance began. 

When I went to New York, as a young adven- 
turer in the field of letters, almost the very first 
duty given to me to perform was a review of Mr. 
Bokee's first volume of poetry. I was ordered by 
my snperior at the time to take the book and — to 
abuse it; especially to point out what he gave me 
to understand were its crudities and imitations. 



34 

although they were not so apparent to my own 
mind. Under the circnmstances, I had no alterna- 
tive, and felt myself l)ound to obey his orders 
strictly. I can easily imagine the rage of the 
author when he came to read my article. A month 
or two afterward I made his personal acquaintance, 
and shortly afterward — it was not long, for I had 
an immediate instinct of the breadth and liberality 
of his nature — I luiburdened my conscience by 
confessing- to him the wrong I had been compelled 
to do him. 

About six months subsequently my own first 
volume of poetry was published. Here there was 
a splendid chance for retribution, and of the most 
tremendous character. Do you suppose he availed 
bimself of it? Just the reverse. He wrote a 
review, in Avhich all my faults and imperfections 
and the crudities of which I really was guilty were 
buried fathoms deep, and whatever point might be 
interpreted as a merit was lifted into a sort of 
mountain peak, high above all the tides of time. 
He really made me believe that — but, no: I need 
only say that it was very much more than I 
believe of myself, now. From that time to this, 
whether in the inevitable struggles of life, in the 
time which tried the life of the nation, or in the 
discouragements of following literature in an un- 
literary age (as this seems to be, in our countiy), 
I have always turned to him for new help and 



ti-esh courage. I know the brave and steadfast 
spirit displayed by him in other than literary work 
for so man}^ years, and with the results of which 
you are all more liimiliar than I. I know the 
ripeness and soundness of his mind, the fine 
balance of his intellectual qualities, and the devo- 
tion which has made those qualities the servants 
of his country's will and his country's good. But 
it is not in this character that 1 shall miss his 
presence among us. I shall miss the faithful 
literary counsellor, the sympathizing and encourag- 
ing friend, and I must beg you to let me in my 
own way — in his way — in the way of the young- 
authors of the country, whom to-night. I venture 
to represent — read my farewell. 

Give to the patriot heart your warm "God-speed!" 
Let every wisli his parting sails impel, 

Honor the eager will, the ready deed, 
But to the poet let me bid farewell ! 

You know how wisely and bow nobly he 
The nation's faith and power will represent; 

How true and frank the Orient will see 
In him the features of the Occident. 

Hail, then, the statesman, the diplomatist, 
Who the safe steward of your trust shall l)c! 

I see his mission through the golden mist 
Of song, and so must sing it as I see. 



36 



I know liow clear the crescent sickle sets, 

How flushed with roses hroailens there the morn 

O'er Stamboul's ridge of reedy minarets, 
And o'er the waters of the Golden Horn. 

I know what lustrous eyes are sometimes seen 
Through garden leaves and latticed window-bars, 

And fear some twin Circassian stars may wean 
His fealty from our seven-and-thirty stars. 

I know how tall, how strong and light of limb 
The men of Islam in their own domain ; 

But they must have a care, lest, seeing him. 
The girls of Daraar fmd Prince Adeb plain! 

And when some turbau'd Shekh shall him behold. 
The flight of ages he may well forget. 

And think him Saladin, or Hatem old, 

Or dream that Haroun reigns in Bagdad j'ct. 

The Moor Calaynos there may pass him by. 
Nor guess what hand for us his portrait drew; 

Our poet shall not find an alien sky. 
Nor other lives than he already knew. 

His fanc}' long ago prefigured all 

He there may see, and seeing, haply sing; 

But I shall bid some tender memor}' call 

His home's old music from the newer string. 

When he, returning from the Sick Man's door, 
Climbs Pera's hill, an idle hour to dream. 

His eyes shall see, o'er Marmora's azure floor. 
The white Olympus of Bithynia gleam. 



37 



If not Jove's mount, its Asian counterpart, 
A symbol of the steep liis youth assailed, 

Of those wlio climbed with his courageous Iieart, 
And tliose who midway to the summit failed. 

Still may it shine for him, our Mount of Song! 

Recalling still his lirothers iu the West, 
Who, kuowing him as man and [joet long. 

As man and poet claim to love him best! 

When Mr. Taylor finished rcadhig- his poem, 
whieh was received witli great enthusiasm, Mr. 
BoKER -was loudly called for, and upon stepping 
forward was received with round after round of 
cheers. Quiet having at last been attained, he 
commenced his acknowledgments, saying: — 

You cannot imagine my feelings, gentlemen, 
upon this occasion, for the manner in which you 
have received me. If I should open my mind, 
what could I return to you but thanks — thanks — 
thanks for the honor which you have done me? 
I feel the weight and importance of this reception. 
I do not come here with a prepared speech. 1 
must trust to the influences of the moment. I 
thought it woidd have lieen a heartless thing, in 
cold blood, in my study, to have based a proble- 
matical reply upon a possible address. Of course 
I did not know the substance of the remarks which 
were to be made liy my fi-iends here. 



;}8 

I wish to say a few words regarding my connec- 
tion with this Institution — the Union League. A 
great deal of credit has been given to me to-night 
for my personal relations with the League — for the 
work which I have done for it. After all I have 
only represented you in all that I have done. I 
happen to have a sympathetic mind, and I under- 
stood the feeling and will of the League and the 
mind of the League — how it thought and felt — and 
having that instinct, I represented you in a way to 
be approved. It was not because I did it inde- 
pendently. I knew Avell the course I was taking- 
was the course wiiich I was desired to take. I was 
the mere exjjonent of the League. According to 
the best of my abilities, I have done my duty here, 
and it has been simply my duty. 

You all Ivuow that I began life as a Democrat. 
I have upon my conscience the fact that my first 
vote was cast for James Buchanan. When I 
saw the manner in Avhich the South was disposed 
to press us, I took the first step from the party 
with Stephen A. Douglass. After that, when the 
matter became a serious one, and the sword was 
drawai, it struck me that politics had vanished 
entirely from the scene — that no more politics 
remained — that it was a mere question of patriotism 
or disloyalty. Then I ranged myself on the side 
on which I am now found; and I know that the 
Republican party, in persevering with its policy, 



39 

is cnrryiiig out to its logical issue the policy under 
which it conducted the war. 

Gentlemen, you must feel for nie in the embar- 
rassing position in wdiich I am placed to-night. 
This celehration I know is of a personal nature. I 
feel it from the bottom of my soul. I know 
everything done here to-night has lieen done for 
me personally, as a friend and as an old officer of 
the League who is about to leave you and sees 
you now together possibly for the last time. There- 
fore my situation here is a very embarrassing one. 
It is not as though I were firing away at the 
reputation of another. I think I could be eloquent 
if I were talking about Mr. McMichael or some 
other well-known and highly respected gentleman ; 
but it is impossible for me to talk about myself. 

I therefore, gentlemen, simply wish to repeat 
again my thanks to 3^011 on this occasion, which I 
shall never forget, God knows, as long as I live. 
When I am far away on the shores of the Bosphorus, 
I shall often think of this happy meeting. In 
regard to certain situations in which I may be 
placed, as stated in moving verse by my friend 
Taylor, I can but say that his experience has 
preceded mine. He was also a nnicli 3'ounger man 
than I shall be when I reach there. I shall, 
however, promise to do the best I can for the 
disconsolate damsels whom he left Ijchind him. 



40 

Let me once more ofter my sincere thanks, and 
wish you a cordial farewell. 



The applause which followed the conclusion of 
Mr. Bokek's address and the emotion it excited 
Avere as hearty and as genuine as that with which 
he was received. A succession of toasts to his 
health and prosperity having been drunk, the 
chairman, Mr. McMichael, announced that a distin- 
guished member of the Cabinet of the President of 
the United States was present, as were also two 
most eminent Senators; declining to enter into any 
eulogy of these gentlemen, he proposed the health 
of General George M. Robeson, Secretary of the 
]N^avy. Thus introduced the Secretary said: — 

My friends and fellow members of the Union 
League, of Philadelphia — I thauk you for the 
kindness of the sentiment which your President 
has given, and for the manner in which you have 
received it. Representing here to-night, in some 
sort, the Executive of our N^ation, who is at once 
the representative of our principles and the chief 
and leader of our party, I am proud to say, as an 
original meniber of the Union League, that the 
appointment of our friend, whom Ave are assembled 
to honor, richly deserved and nobly achieved as it 
has been by personal character and patriotic 



41 

service, was confeiTcd also as a public recog-nition 
of the patriotic, national, and American spii'it of 
your organization, an organization as valualiie in 
action and in inliucnce as any our country has ever 
known. In response to whatever was personal to 
myself in the allusions of your President, I have 
nothing to say, since whatever I have done in the 
past has been only as a memlx-r of that great army 
of which we are all soldiers, and whatever any of 
us may achieve in the future must depend upon 
the success of those principles, which uniting us in 
a common cause have bound us together in a 
connnon destiny. The appreciation of g<;)od men, 
however, is always pleasant; and in these da}'s 
Avhen personal character is never safe from the 
assault of persistent slander; when whatever is 
most sacred in private life is the daily prey of the 
jackals who minister to a prurient appetite; when 
the largest successes are depreciated, and, as far as 
may be, defeated by a pretentious scepticism, Avhich 
aspires to regulate, to its OAvn mould, the morals, 
the manners, and the develii[)ment of our American 
government and people; when the fugitive repre- 
sentatives of foreign demagogism come up Avith the 
insolent ambition to command us and our children, 
then it is certainly a satisfaction to be assured of 
the support of disinterested men, and to receive the 
approbation of representative Americans for pul)lie 
conduct, antl the principles and policy Avhich we 



42 

represent. But I care not to dwell upon either 
personal or official questions ; for 3011 know I 
belong to an administration Avhicli believes in the 
eloquence of action rather than of profession; and 
serve under a chief whose whole public life, military 
and civil, has been spent in answering adverse 
criticism by uniform good conduct, accusation by 
achievement, depreciation b}^ devotion, sneers by 
successes, until in the review of the last ten years, 
among the most solemn and eventful of history, he 
stands before the world, and will stand on the 
pages of history, a central living iigure around 
which are grouped the great events of the decade. 
I will not in these days of self-assertion attempt to 
define the qiialities of greatness, but it seems to me 
that great results are the tests of great qualities ; 
and that he Avho has been in peace and war the 
pivot and the master of the greatest events of great 
times, fulfils some of the conditions, and exhibits 
some of the qualities of greatness. 

But, my friends, if he of whom I speak has 
achieved any greatness it has been as a representa- 
tive of the American people; himself a most marked 
embodiment of our American idea, a pure represen- 
tative of the general results of American character, 
intellect, and action. The secret of American 
success in the past, and its assurance for the future, 
is to be found in the spirit of American character, 
and the impress of American ideas uj^on the s]jirit 



43 

of our popular government, and the daily iiib of our 
people. Let me not he misundei'stood. I seek not 
to depreciate and repel our brethren from beyond 
the sea. It is the very spirit of our government to 
attract the liberty loving of every language and of 
every land; but I desire that they shall not seek to 
al)sorb and assimilate us, but will be themselves 
absorbed and assimilated by us. This is the 
natural and necessary result, truer for us and bettei" 
for them and for humanity, for the principles of 
American progress are the principles of progress 
and humanity throughout the world, and the con- 
ditions of such a success as is here witnessed are 
only to be found in those principles which unite 
the destinies of the republic with the hopes of 
civilization and humanity. Our nation is new 
among the communities of the world, but it 
assumes its place of leadership by virtue of a new 
and special creation, conferred upon the held of 
battle and in the presence of attendant peoples. A 
nation gathered from the vitality of every land, and 
uniting in one community the pi'Ogressive energies 
of every race, with a continent as a heritage, and 
freedom as a birthright, it is fit that we should be 
the champion as well as the exponent of the Avorld's 
progress for ourselves not only, but for all the 
peoples of the earth. 

The results of these conditions are liegiuuiug to 
be frit and realized tlu-oughout tlio world. The 



44 

imprt'ss and cfteet of American character and 
I)rinei])lcs are felt throngh all the avenues of 
liersonal and political influence, in peace as well as 
war, in the schools of diplomacy as on the field of 
battle — may I be permitted in this connection to 
repeat an allusion which T have before had occasion 
to make upon this very snliject of American man- 
hood as exhibited in our diplomacy abroad. 

In the capital of Imperial France, gorgeous with 
the grandeur and the gold of historic ages, were 
gathered, eig-hteen months ago, the selected repre- 
sentatives of every enlightened government of the 
earth. Their roll glittered with historic names, 
and was rich Avith the l^lazonry of arms and orders. 
They embodied the ideas, were clothed with the 
dignity, charged with the duties, and invested with 
the powers of the civilized world. 

Among them all, perhaps, neither the simple 
name nor the unpretending person of the American 
representative would at that time attract the 
attention of the thoughtless or the proud. But 
(Un-ing the period which has since passed, France 
has been the theatre of scenes calculated to try the 
qualities of all who witnessed or had part in them. 
Read to-day the record of the stirring months. 
On that lofty roll but one name seems written in 
letters of living light, and of all that glittering- 
throng but one figure stands boldly out to challenge 



45 

the attention and command the respect of the 
world. 

l^'he exponent of the hlieral views of onr govern- 
ment, and of the comprehensive civiUzation of onr 
people, our Amci-ican representative was, thronghout 
the var3ing struggle, at once the representative of 
progress and of law, of freedom and of civilization ; 
and in the fierce convulsions amid which were dis- 
solved and lost, together with the influences of 
human reason, the securities of civil government 
and the bonds of civil society, he remained the sole 
representative, guardian, and protector of religion 
and humanity. The traditions, the forms, the 
courtesies, the securities of diplomatic intercourse 
were swept away amid the wild confusion, but he 
supplied traditions by ideas, forms l\y actions, 
courtesies by kindness, securities by courage, till 
he seemed to stand before the nations, amid the 
wreck of governments and the ruins of society, as 
the sole representative of Christian civilization, 
while the elite of European diplomacy were dwarfed 
and belittled before the life-size stature of Amei'i- 
can manhood. 

Now, my friends, what I rejoice in most to-nigjit, 
and congratulate myself and you most sincerely 
upon, in the appointment I mean of our friend, is 
the American quality of his character and mind! 
Looking for the moment beyond the strong personal 
feelings which grow out of long friendship and 



46 

kindly association, l)eyond my high appreciation of 
his quaUtics of head and heart, Ix'yond the nol^le 
record of his patriotic service and influence, 1 
rejoice in him to-night, and bid him God-speed, 
as a rej)resentative of American manhood and 
character. 



President McMichael proposed three cheers for 
Minister Washburne, to whom the speaker refen-ed 
in his address. The proposition was responded to 
in such a manner as clearly to show the high 
appreciation by the gentlemen present of the work 
of our Minister to France. 

The Hon. Simon Cameron, United States 
Senator from Pemisylvania, was then introduced. 

Gen. Cameron spoke as follows : — 

Gentlemen — It is somewhat unkind to ask me to 
address this company after those gifted in speech 
have spoken so eloquently; but your greeting to 
me is so Idnd that I cannot refuse to say a few 
words. Old men love to look backwards. They 
may act their part in the afltairs of to-day, but 
when the hours of rest on the occasions of festivity 
come they have more to do with memories than 
projects. And so it is with me to-night when we 
arc assembled to honor Geokge H. Bokeu. Even 
now I have a vivid remembrance of another of the 



47 

naino, Clmrles Bokcr, and I recall him as the man 
who did a iiuhlc thiiio- at a critical time. When a 
fearful financial tornado .swept the banks vt' the 
country into ruin, and everything seemed to be in 
danger of destruction; Avhen panic-stricken men 
felt themselves paralyzed by the great desolation; 
then this Boker of whom I speak — in heaven long 
years ago — and another brave man whom I saw 
here in the early hours of this evening, "William D. 
LcAvis, took charge of the currency and credit of 
this city, and saved ns all from destruction. "We 
have met to-night to bid farewell and God-sjieed 
to Charles Boker's son, and I honor him for the 
proud name he has earned. But I honor him also 
for the metal that is in him. I honor liim. as the 
son of that ])rave man whom panic could not craze, 
nor disaster appal. And I have an especial 
pleasure in the feeling of pride I experienced w hen 
the President paid my old friend's son the deserved 
compliment of choosing him to represent our 
country at the court of a great nation, and before 
the oldest dynasty in Europe. The new Minister 
to the Sublime Porte is especially fitted to fulfil the 
high duties laid upon him, and the President has 
chosen wisely in laying these duties on so capable 
a citizen, so excellent a gentleman. 

Looking backAvard yet, I remember how this 
Union League came into existence. In those 
days it Avas not considered ''gejiteel" to be a 



48 

Republican. All who bad a terror of social 
inlluence, of society as it is called, bad found 
refuge in a party wbicb bad become the champion 
of caste, and died in the base service of its master. 
When the war began between caste on the one 
hand and liberty on the other, a very considerable 
proportion of those who loved to call themselves 
''genteel," many gentlemen of fortune, old Feder- 
alists already in good society, and a myriad of 
snobs, who wanted to get into that circle, joined 
the Democratic party. It had become a sort of 
social maxim, when Mr. Buchanan ran for the 
Presidency, that Democracy and Aristocracy, by 
some occult influence, had become one and the 
same thing. And it followed that an attempt was 
made to tramp out every one who refused to 
worship the Image of Slavery and ''Democracy." 

And yet, notwithstanding this, some gentlemen 
withstood these would-be masters sternly. Geokge 
H. BoKER, Lindley Smyth, and James H. Orne — 
and more formed of the same stufl:' — undertook to 
organize an 02:)position to this exclusive coterie, 
and began the combination of their forces. This 
Union League of Philadelphia, known all over the 
land, and in many foreign lands, is the result. Mr. 
BoKER — as I happen to know — being handsome, 
(for Avhich he should not be held to too strict a 
responsibility) and young (he is getting bravely 
over that) ; and being also gifted with the powers 



49 

of organizing-, became its secretary, and soon 
became tbe master spirit of the enterprise. I 
i-emember during- tlie political campaign -whieb 
ended in the second election of Mr. Lincoln — I 
bad accepted tbe tbankless place of Cbairman 
of tbe Republican State Committee — it became 
necessary to invite tbe Uiiion League to advance 
money to cany on tbe campaign. Livitations of 
tbis character were not generally responded to by 
those to Avbom they were addressed. But tbe 
League did respond, and responded so generously 
that when the battle was over I banded them back 
a surplus of some eight thousand dollars ; and, to 
their everlasting- praise be it known, this sum, with 
much more, was used in recruiting- regiments to 
enable Lincoln to carry out tbe verdict of the 
people, rendered in his triumphant re-election. I 
think an act like this should be noticed far more 
prominently than it ever has been. I believe tbis 
Union League, under God, did more than any 
civil organization in America to put down tbe 
Eebellion. To it must praise be ascribed for doing- 
much to enable the great leader of our armies to 
win those victories which redeemed our country, 
and raised him to tbe position he now holds, as the 
chief magistrate of our nation and tbe first soldier 
of tbe world. He has done well to honor tbe 
Union League by choosing the guest of tbis 
evening- for honorable ])olitical employment, and 

7 



50 

with such representatives of his administration as 
our friend, success is sure. 

And now a word concerning the President. He 
assumed the duties of his great office at a time 
when the country was jnst emerging from a mighty 
war. The opportunity, open three years previously, 
for a restoration of hai-mony had been strangely, 
wickedly thrown away. The defeated rebels, 
charmed and amazed at Grant's quiet and manly 
desire to shield them from persecution, Avere ready 
to do anything when Lee surrendered. They were 
astounded at the magnanimity of their conqueror. 
But in an evil hour — so far as men may judge — 
a demagogue became the President of the United 
States. This restless, this unwise, petulant man, 
aiming at notoriety and popularity, and being 
unable to grasp the great events, which by a 
strange providence exalted him, adopted a policy 
which re-inspired the crushed rebellion and re- 
manded the South to political chaos. The country 
turned to Grant, as to a saviour, to bring order out 
of confusion, and the terrible duty he was called on 
to perform was thus aggravated to the last pitch of 
difficulty. But the same steady hand, the same 
untalteriug courage, the same relentless firmness 
which put down armed resistance to the laws, 
o-rappled with the subtler and more dangerous 
opposition of a revengeful public opinion, and secret 
organization controlled by malevolence alone — with 



51 

the Rebellion restored while our armies were 
scattered. How he has met this trying- situation 
Ave all laiow. And it would be well for his critics, 
and his maligners, to bear this always in remem- 
brance : that Grant's administration inherits the 
curse gx'uerated by the misrule of his predecessor. 
The public morals always suffer from the cfiects of 
war. The political integrity of the country became 
submerged in the scandalous administration which 
followed the return of peace. And now all good 
men see, all good men approve, the course of this 
able general, this upright magistrate. When dis- 
order rears its head, he puts it down with a strong- 
hand. When a public officer is proven a defaultei-, 
swift punishment follows. And, in addition to this, 
the present administration has earned the eternal 
gratitude of the country by paying ofi" more of our 
national burthens since it has managed our affairs, 
ten times over, than has ever been paid by any 
government on the face of the earth in the same 
period of time. 

If I have spoken longer than I intended — and I 
feel that I have — I must lay the l)lame on the broad 
shoulders of Bokku and of Grant, and I therefore 
close by a renewal of best wishes for the futiu'e of 
both. 



The Hon. John Scott, United States Senntor 
Ironi Pennsylvania, was then presented, and said: — 

Gentlemen of the Union League — I came here, 
this evening, to do honor to your Secretary, now 
made Minister to Turkey. You have already heard 
from the President of your Association, from the 
predecessors of Mr. Boker in that mission, from 
l)oets, and from others, and I do not come, at this 
late hour, to speak at any length to you. I shall 
join in honor to your guest, by addi'cssing the few 
words I have to sa}^ in conclusion to him. 

The society of which you are an esteemed 
member and an officer was one of the great instru- 
mentalities in successfully resisting the rebellion. 
Since its close, sir, the great spectacle has been 
presented of the oldest nation on the earth, claiming 
at least to be such, sending its embassy to us, 
headed by a citizen of our own land, starting out 
to visit all the nations of the earth, and coming- 
first to this, the youngest of the nations, I may 
say, to pay us reverence. You go now, the 
representative of this nation, to take your post on 
the dividing line between Europe and Asia. You 
go, sir, from this city, within whose limits was 
made, as has often been said, the only treaty never 
ratified by an oath and never broken. As you go, 
poet-diplomatist, passing the land of Machiavel 



53 

and under the shadow of Parnassus, may a new 
insph-ation Hght upon 3'our patriotic muse, and 
your Avords come back to us from those shores, as 
they have come to us in our own kind, words of 
cheer and hope. But I feel too I am justified in 
saying- that you go from this spot to say to those 
nations for us that truth is the l)ost diplomacy, 
and that the sacred observance of national faith 
witli citizen and foreigner, with civilized as well 
as savage men, is the strongest l)ond of national 
peace. Hold this as the policy of om- government, 
and carrying it with you, I say to you, farewell, 
and God-speed. 



The final address of the evening was made by 
Mr. Daniel Dougiieuty, who said: — 

Mr. Chairman and Brothers of the League — In 
the presence of so many distinguished citizens from 
abroad, and of most of our prominent members, I 
had supposed until this moment that I who since 
the close of the war rarely visit you, wouhl have 
remained a silent, though an earnest sharer in this 
joyous scene — joyous scene it is, though tinged 
with sweet sorrow in parting from a friend. 

At your summons I rise with no prepared 
tlioui^hts, no studied sentences. The inspiration 



54 

of these surroundings, the emotions of this heart, 
will prompt the few words that I may speak of 
him to whom we are about to bid farewell. 

The world knows him as the accomplished 
scholar, the sterling- patriot, the illustrious Ameri- 
can. We know him as the genial companion, the 
true friend, the nj)right man. Every sentiment 
uttered to-night — glowingly, feverently uttered — 
found an echo, a double echo, in my heart. We 
arc proud of him as a Pcnnsjdvanian, aye, as a 
Philadelphian; and this feeling of pride in our own 
city, this feeling that in recent years has died 
away, should be recreated, encouraged, and culti- 
vated. There are some things of which Ave are 
ashamed — yet more, many more, that we have 
cause to be proud of We never will exert the 
influence we should, here and among our sister 
cities, mitil wc full}^ realize the importance of 
Philadelphia. Then all true Philadelphians will 
strive to make her pre-eminent, rejoice in her 
prosperity, glory in her renown, and this very 
feeling will drive into deserved obscurity the low 
fellows who too often aspire to prominence, and 
bring forward the men whose virtues commend 
them to the community, and whose learning, tal- 
ents, and genius should be part of the common 
fame of the N'ation. And Boker is among oiu- 
best. His lyre has rapturously sung sAveet strains 



of love, liberty, and loyalty — aye loyalty. It is 
the fashion of late with some to sneer at this word. 
It means not adherence to party, bnt devotion to 
country. The pen of our Poet consecrated to fame 
those who were true, and consigned to infjimy 
those who were false, to the nation in her hour of 
extremest peril. 

I own that I would have preferred to have seen 
this tril)ute to oin- Iricnd freed from all party ties. 
There are hundreds, aye thousands, in this city 
who difTering- on State and ^National questions, yet 
Avho have known him all the days of his life, and 
would most heartily have shared in showering 
honors on George H. Bokek. 

As you expect to sail within two weeks, I hope 
this night a month hence you will have safely 
landed in Europe. Though you will he far from 
Philadelphia; though this Institution, identified 
with you since its formation, will miss your 
valuable services ; though your intimates will lose 
you in joyous hours of festivity; though new 
scenes and associations will crowd upon and 
around you ; though Royalty ^vith its splendor 
may greet, it cannot dazzle you, or make you for a 
moment forget the friends you leave l)ehiud. 

And rest assured, you will not be forgotten b}' 
us. Philadelphia will glory in her absent son. 
These walls will hear unceasinglv the mention of 



56 

your name ; in oiu- social lionrs we will • fondly 
think of you; and thousands will joyfully greet 
you on your return, as now all speak in sadness, 
through me, these last farewell words. Good-bye, 
dear Boker, and God bless you, wherever you 
may be ! 



DURIKCt the evening- letters Avere rccad, express- 
ing- regret at their inability to be present, from 
the President of the United States and from the 
Members of his Cabinet, excepting- the Secretary 
of the !Navy. -whose presence has been referred to ; 
from the Governor of Pennsylvania, and also the 
ft )llowina- : — 



From William Culloii llryant. 

Xew Yokk, December Id, 1871. 

Gentlemen — 

It wonld give me particular pleasure to 
attend the reception aliont to be given by the 
Union League of Philadelphia to a gentleman ol' 
such high personal and literary merit as Mr. 
BoKER, but I have engagements here which put it 
out of my power. 

I am, gentlemen, with great regard. 

Your obedient servant, 

W. C. BRYANT. 
8 



58 

From James T. Fields. 

Boston, December IC, isn. 

Gentlemex — 

I am gi'eatly annoyed that the 22d of this 
month mnst find me, if I am Uving, some three 
hundred miles East instead of South, as I have 
been engaged to speak in Maine that evening, 
and cannot he allo-\ved to hunt up a substitute. 
Otherwise I should be with you all at the glorious 
League, and add my voice to the cheers that will 
go up for our dear friend Bokek. I have long- 
known him as a poet, and a ripe and good one; 
now we are to honor him as a statesman also, for 
he has won that high name by admirable service 
to his country in her days of sorest need. Let me 
send, as I cannot luring it myself, to your table of 
good fellowship at the League, a sentiuient which 
Pope was kind enough to put into verse for me 
before any of us Avere born : 

Health and Happiness to George H. Boker; 

•'Statesman .yet friend to triitli! of soul sincere. 
In action faithful, and in honor clear; 
Who broke no promise, served no private end, 
Who gained no title and who lost no friend." 

With sincere regard, 

JAMES T. FIELDS. 



From Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

Boston, December 17, 1871. 

Dear Sik — 

I regret very sincerely that my engagements 
render it impossible for me to be present at the 
reception tendered by the meml)ers of the Union 
Leagne of Philadelphia to their distingnishcd fellow- 
citizen, Mr. Geoiigk H. Bokek. Had it been in 
my poAver I should have been most happy to meet 
Mr. Bokek and his friends on an occasion which 
mnst prove so full of interest. We all rememl^er 
the signal services he rendered to our common 
country during its terrible years of trial. His 
public spirit made itself felt in many Avays — in 
none more effectively than in writing those spirited 
lyrics which cheered so many hearts in the darkest 
hours. 

He will be followed to the scene of his new 
duties l)y the best wishes of all Avho have known 
him, and all Avho have known his patriotic zeal and 
devotion. I should have been better pleased to 
take his hand and Avish him a speedy voyage, a 
prosperous mission, and a safe return; but I nnist 
content myself Avith saying, through this colder 
channel ol" expression, that 1 fully share all the 



()0 

kind I'eeliiig- Avhieh Avill gather around him a great 
cluster of friends to l»id him farewell and God- 
speed. 

Believe me, dear Sirs. 

Yours very truly, 

O. W. HOLMES. 



From Richard H. Stoddard. 

"75 E.\sT Tenth Street. 
New York, December 18, 18tl. 

My Dear Sirs — 

You do me honor by inviting me to the 
reception of my good friend Boker, and it is with 
sincere regret that I cannot be present. I have 
known Mr. Boker, man and boy, more years than 
I can remember, and there is no one for Avhom I 
have more respect and admiration. 

I am glad that he is to i-epresent our country 
aliroad, as far as he is concerned, but I am sorry 
on my ovn\ account. I shall so miss his handsome 
face and his thinning curls. Shake his hand for 
me, on his i-eception night, and believe me, 

Sincerely yours. 

R. H. STODDARD. 



Gl 



From James ItusscU Lowell. 

Gentlemen — 

I regret \ery inueh that my eng\ig-cmeiits 
^\\U not permit mo to aceept the very agreeable 
invitation of the Union League. It would liavc 
given me great pleasure to have thrown my old 
shoe with the rest after one who will represent ns 
so flxvorably abroad. 

Very truly yours, 

J. R. LOWELL. 
Elmwooi>, LSth Dec. IStL 



From Henry W. Longfellow. 

Cambridge, Deeember IS, LS7L 

Gentlemen — 

I have had the honor of receiving your 
kind invitation to be present at the reception of 
Mr. BoKEK, by the Union League of Philadelphia, 
and regret extremely that my engagements here 
prevent me from accepting it. 

I highly esteem Mr. Bokeii l)otli as a- poet and 
as a man, and should be glad to show it in this 
Avay if it Avere possible for me to do it. 



(52 

Begging you to accept ray tliankt^ and ray 
regrets, I ara, gentlemen. 

Yours faithfully, 
IIEXRY W. LONGFELLOW. 



From K. P. Whipple. 

Boston, December 18, ISTL 

Gentlemen — 

I regret that I shall be unable to be in 
Philadelphia on the 22d inst., to join in the 
reception given to our friend Mr. Boker. His 
first "mission" was literature; and for the last ten 
years he has subordinated it to patriotism Avithout 
being untrue to its essential spirit and inspiration. 
He has learned statesmanship in the school where 
it is best taught — in the school which teaches the 
duty of hard and earnest and ardent work for the 
cause of countr}^ and liberty. Boston joins Phila- 
delphia in wishing him success and happiness in 
his new career of diplomac}'. Of one thing we are 
all confidently assured, that the Minister Avill do 
nothing unworthy the Minstrel. 

Very sincerely yours, 

E. r. wiiiprLE. 



63 



From Thomns P.. Ahlricli. 



Boston, !N[ass., Deceml)cr 10, 1S7I. 

Gkntlemen — 

I find the duties very disagrccaljle "wliieli 
prevent me from being present at tlic rece^jtion to 
l)e given to Mr. Boker by the Union League of 
Philadelphia. It is pleasant to sec Philadelphia 
treating one of her oavu distinguished Men of 
Letters as if he Avere a distinguished Man of 
Letters from somewhere else ! We are grindy told 
that '*a ]^)rophet is not without honor save in his 
own country and in his own house." This piece of 
cynicism is happily at fault in BoKEii's case. He 
is valued most Ijy those who know him best, among 
whom is. 

Your very obedient servant, 

T. 15. ALDRK'II. 



From (ieorgc W. Curtis. 

Wasiiinoton, D. C, 2Uth Dec. Is71. 

Gentlemen — 

I am sincerely sorry that I cannot accept 
your kind invitation to the reception in honor of 
Mr. Boker, who goes to contimie the good service 
of his fellow Pennsylvanians, Mr. Morris and Mr. 



04 

MacVeagh, not only in guarding the national 
interest and lionor, hut in showing to the East' the 
character and aeconi])lislnnents of an American 
gentleman. 

There will be no one at your feast wliose God- 
speed to our friend will be heartier than that of. 
Your obedient ser'S'ant, 
GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS. 



From Edmund C. Steadman. 

New York, .January 9, 1SY2. 

Gentlemen — 

It is with me a matter of sincere regret that 
your in^'itation to be present at the reception to 
Geoege H. Bokek failed to reach me by mail or 
otherwise. I should deem it a privilege to assist 
in any formal recognition of the genius and 
patriotism of one whoui I have so long loved as a 
comrade, admired as our foremost dramatic poet, 
and honored for his superb manhood and his 
unswerving devotion to the Union cause throughout 
our Civil War. 

The services which Mr. Boker rendered to his 
country are not alone to be measured by his 
inseparable connection with the history of your 
renowned Union League, but were potent wherever 
the hearts of the people were reached — and where 



were they not? — by such nol)lo lyrics ns "On 
Boai'd the Cmiiberlaiid," " The Black Regiinent," 
and " The Ballad of ISTcw Orleans." In coinmon 
Avith the entire brotherhood of American authors, 
I feel that his appointment to a foreign mission is 
a tribute to letters and poesy; and that in imitating- 
the example of the greatest nations of ancient and 
modern times, and conferring honors upon those 
who " make the songs of a people," our country 
honors herself and strengthens the devotion of 
her most eai'nest and unseliish sons. 

Very respectfnily yours, 

EDMUXI) 0. STEADMAN. 



CONTRIBUTOES. 



Clayton IMacmicliacl, 
M. Hall Stanton, 
Joseph Harrison, Jr., 
Charles K. I.Ic, 
Robert S. Sturgia, 
Gibson Peacock, 
Edward S. Mawson, 
Georo-e Plitt, 
Xavier Bazin, 
James II. Campbell, 
James V. Watson, 
George Whitney, 
Joseph Frailey Smith, 
Cornelius A. AValborn, 
Joseph Wrn. Bates, 
Bloomfield II. ^loore, 
George J. Gross, 
AValter ^IcMichael, 
Morton McMiehael, 
William P. Brock, 
Francis S. Hoffman, 
John L. Shoemaker, 
Alexander Biddle, 
Thomas S. Ellis, 



William Cadwalader, 
William P. Cresson, 
John E. Cope, 
James II. C^astle, 
William I). Lewis, 
Franklin A. Comly, 
William Wistcr, 
Thomas Fitzgerald, 
Joshua B. Lippincott, 
Augustus Iv. Ilall, 
-lunius E. Kingslcy, 
Benjamin G. Godfrey, 
Cliarles Xoi-ris, 
James L. Clagliorn, 
Strickland Kneass, 
George F. Tyler, 
Charles S. Lewis, 
Francis Wells, 
Charles J. Stiile, 
James Milliken, 
Joseph II. Schenck, 
Joseph Wm. Miller, 
George S. Fox, 
Charles A. Besson, 



68 



J. Morgan Jciinlson, 
Samuel S. White, 
William S. Vaux, 
Josliua T. Ileald, 
Thomas Sparks, 
Clayton French, 
Rohert Wood, 
Ahraham Barker, 
rhilip R. Freas, 
George W. Chikls, 
Francis W. Lewis, M.D., 
James S. Mason, 
William J. Caner, 
Francis L. Bodine, 
Joseph G. :Mitcliell, 
William J. Jcnks, 
Rohert P. Gillingham, 
William Sellers, 
John Sellers, 
William B. Bement, 
Henry C. Lea, 
John F. Graff, 
Lewis Andenried, 
Thomas A. Biddle, 
Edward S. Clarke, 
Annesley R. Govett, 
E. Joy Morris, 
George W. Farr, Jr., 
Edward Browning, 
William IL Kern, 
George E. llofiman, 
Ferdinand J. Dreer, 



William H. Sowers, 
AYilliam K. I'ark, 
Ahraham ILirt, 
Hugh Davids, 
Gustavus S. Benson, 
J. Raymond Claghorn, 
Edward Wharton, 
John J. Thomas, 
R. Dale Benson, 
Edward P. Kersliaw, 
Edwin M. Lewis, 
Joseph Trimble, 
William IL Lippincott, 
John A. Houseman, 
Joseph Wharton, 
Joseph Lea, 
J. Frederick List, 
William IL Kemhle, 
William M. Farr, 
Benjamin C. Tilghman, 
Horatio K. Burroughs, 
Matthew II. Messchcrt, 
Lindley Smyth, 
Ira E. Walraven, 
Charles O'Xeill, 
Sanderson R. Martin, 
Thomas M. Coleman, 
John W. Lockwood, 
Robert II. Gratz, 
Henry C. Howell, 
Samuel B. Thomas, 
Charles S. Wurts, M.D., 



69 



Joseph 11. Roach, 
George Thompson, 
George M. Stroud, 
David S. Brown, 
George R. Wood, 
Clarence II. CJlark, 
Alexander G. Cattell, 
Stephen Flanagan, 
James M. Flanagan, 
Jay Cooke, 
.). Bernard Wilson, 
1*. Frazer Smith, 
Virtue C. Swcatman, 
Geoi'ge J. Ricliardson, 
Charles II. Graft", 
John Crump, 
John S. Gerhard, 
Alexander K. MeClure, 
William II. Allen, 
Horatio G. Sickel, 
Edward B. Edwards, 
Thomas T. Tasker, Jr., 
Edwin L. Reakirt, 
Aaron V. Gibbs, 
J. Rodman Paul, 
John Clayton, 
James Forney, 
Benjamin Stevenson, 
Edward Roberts, Jr., 
George Cadwalader, 
John Rice, 
llenrv Blauchard, 



Edwin L. Davenport, 
Clement Biddle, 
Archibald Melntyre, 
G. Dawsou Coleman, 
Cadwalader Biddle, 
ir. Rratt McKean, 
Adolph E. Borie, 
Charles Lennig, 
Nicholas Lennig, 
J. (if. L. Brown, 
Edward Penington, -Jr. 
John M. Read, 
•Fames Spear, 
Charles Macalester, 
'\\'illiam Wetherill, 
Eairman Rogers, 
J. Gillingham Fell, 
•loseph II. Trotter, 
William R. Leeds, 
George J. Weaver, 
Jolin K. Valentine, 
Aaron A. Hurley, 
Edward C. Knight, 
I'. S. P. Conner, 
Henry Lewis, 
Samuel Bell, 
Seth I. Comly, 
John Culin, 
W. Henry Rawle, 
Charles AV. Trotter, 
James E. Caldwell, 
•Idhu Wagner, 



70 



Frederick Graff, 
II. Earnest Goodiiuin, 
Edward Shippeii, 
Samuel C Perkins, 
E. W. Bailey, 
Joseph Vi. Bullock, 
Dell. ]S(ol)lit, 
Thomas Birch, 
Stephen A. Caldwell, 
John B. Kenne^', 
Henry A. Stiles, 
Henry D. Landis, 
Charles Gilpin, 
Thomas Cadwalader. 
Israel Maule, 
William Ward, 
Henry H. Bingham, 
Peter F. Rothermol, 
Henry C. Baird, 
John P. Verree, 
James T. Mitchell, 
Charles S. Ogden, 
Thomas George Morton, 
Charles E. Smith* 
John A. llicstand, 
Louis A. Godcy, 
Harry Godey, 
Evan Randolph , 
Augustus Ileaton, 
George D. Wetherill, 
Gouverneur Emerson, M.i). 
Henry Davis, 



Henry G. JNlorris, 
William B. Elliott, 
Hamilton Disston, 
William E. Littleton, 
AV^illiam E. Lejee, 
Marshall Henszey, 
Howard Kirk, 
Thomas AVood, 
Alan Wood, Jr., 
J. Edgar Thomson, 
William Elliott, 
George S. Strawbridge, 
Albert II. Smith, 
Charles Gibbons, 
James B. Agnew, 
Richard R. Campion, 
Andrew :M. Eastwick, 
Henry C. Gibson, 
Campbell Tucker, 
William W. IN'evin, 
Elwood Wilson, 
John L. Lawson, 
Henry C. Carey, 
John J. Piukerton, 
Saunders Lewis, 
Thomas Smith, 
Anthony J. Antelo, 
J. I. C. Hare, 
Peter A. 15. Wiedner, 
Thomas ilcEuen, M.D., 
Lewis Wain Smith, 
A. Boyd Cummings, 



71 



Adolplius Li]ipo, M.D.. 
Edward Saimiel, 
Hector Tj-ndale, 
Morton ^Ic^Jichael, Jr., 
John Price Wetherill, 
Edward Lafourcade, 
George C'uthljert, 
John II. ]Michcuer, 
Ilenrj P. ]\Iuirheid, 
Thomas Webster, 
William II. Eiseiibrey, 
Robert B. Cubeen, 



Paniol iJougherty, 
Ivieliard Wood, 
Andrew Wheeler, 
Edwin IST. Benson, 
Samuel L. Smedlej-, 
Frederick W. Fotteral 
James I'ollock, 
Lorin Blodget, 
Samuel E. Stokes, 
llichard Wright, 
Benjamin T. Tredick. 



H 77 



78 i* 



■<"\ ^"i) v"^ -1 ^''i 




o 



"op 






,,0' 



V:,i' y\ --vs^-" /^\ '^i 







^■'''"'^•'ft 


K""'^' 


'^^i^f^ -^'\ ^^ 


Po^^' 


'°-"*' .<- ... ^<.*^ 



